With a network of around 750 Fellows from 95 countries, the Atlas Corps family is growing every day. It is time to look back and to showcase the achievements of our amazing Alumni. Today we want to talk with our Alumnus Eyitayo Ogunmola (Class 20, Nigeria, Host: Creative Associates International). After serving as an Atlas Corps Fellow in Washington, DC, Eyitayo became the founder and CEO of Utiva.io, an organization combining online learning experiences with human-facing classroom training and helping global and local employers find the best 5% and most productive talents across Africa. A few months ago Eyitayo was named a 2020 Halcyon Incubator Fellow!
Congratulations to Eyitayo in this amazing opportunity! Halcyon’s Fellowship program supports innovators and creates that are working to change the world. We wish him the best with this impactful work!
Name: Eyitayo Ogunmola
Home Country: Nigeria Current Organization: Utiva Inc. Role at current organization: Chief Executive Officer Social Issue have you worked with: Business Development |
How has Atlas Corps contributed to your professional accomplishments?
Atlas Corps helped me globalize my local skills. I came into the fellowship with lots of latent capabilities that needed to be activated to scale the skills and capabilities for global impact. Atlas Corps also helped me improve my Business Development Skills and scaled my ability to pursue major impact opportunities, form consortium for impact programming, network across different functional groups and developed structure for impact projects. These major lessons helped me improve the company that I currently lead.
How has Atlas Corps contributed to your personal accomplishments?
Personally, I have friends, networks, and colleagues across more than 30 different countries. These relationships have helped me change my perspectives about life and understanding of social contexts to issues that have also changed my perspectives and improved my approach to life issues.
What are the major highlights of your professional journey since you have finished the Fellowships?
In 2018 after my fellowship, I was awarded the Chevening Scholarship by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office United Kingdom to study pursue a master’s degree in the United Kingdom. In 2019, I was selected as a Fellow of the Global Good Fund in the United States. This accelerator programmed helped scale my leadership. Lastly, in 2020, the company I lead was selected to scale its impact intervention in the United States and I was named Halcyon Incubator Fellow in the United States.
As an Atlas Corps Alumni, how are you a better social change leader?
I am always happy to say that Atlas corps was the first Global Validation of Social Leadership. Atlas Corps placed the first big and global stamp behind my work and gave me the first support system I needed to emerge as a global leader. I was already doing a lot as a young 25-year-old, but Atlas Corps gave me new credentials and new skills that projected me to the world.
Have you collaborated with any other Atlas Corps Fellow after finishing the Fellowship?
My good friend and Fellow: Oyindamola Johnson (Class 22, Nigeria) supported my vision at the early stage of launching my company. He was my Director of Academics for the first 1 year.
What is your favorite Atlas Corps memory?
I had an amazing friend I made during the fellowship. This friend was not a Fellow, but we spent great times together and shared awesome memories. I also will always remember the experience of living in DC and traveling to Maryland and Virginia.
What advice do you have for applicants and incoming Fellows?
My advice for the incoming Fellows: Be ready to explore and change. Change is not always a bed of roses, but be ready to change and it will make you a better person.
More about Atlas Corps
Atlas Corps partners with mission-driven organizations (nonprofit, private, and government) to facilitate a professional exchange program for the world’s best emerging social change leaders to live and serve in the United States for a 12-month Fellowship. The Atlas Corps network currently includes more than 750 professionals from 95 countries who have served at 300 organizations.
Interested in becoming our Fellow? Apply now at apply.atlascorps.org.